Last week I was asked by a friend to give a talk at Inner Flow, the well-being facility at Norssken House Barcelona. The idea intrigued me. Could I take the core concept of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and translate them to fit into a personal well-being context. I liked at least three things about this request. First, I was helping a friend. Second, I enjoy a challenge that stretches my comfort zone. And third, I’m always eager to see how the ideas we promote fit in new and different contexts. Naturally I said yes. It turns out it was much harder than I anticipated. In the end though, we ended up at a good first pass that took into account physical, mental and spiritual health concerns. Let’s take a look at how to use OKRs to set goals in a personal well-being context.
Strategy is now a long-term personal goal
We talk about anchoring OKRs in a shared, clear strategy. In a personal context strategy ends up being a long-term personal goal. For example, I might want to make sure I stay fit enough to keep up with my young kids for the next 10-15 years while also being able to focus on my entrepreneurial work (essentially a work/life balance goal). Or, as I discussed with professional beach volleyball players Danieke Prins and Celine Collette, it could be to make a living doing what they love for as long as possible. This “strategic direction” is the guiding narrative for our mid and short term goals and allows us to focus activities that further us towards that goal and take out others that don’t.
Well-being objectives focus on our mid-term health goals
Our short- term goals are derived from our long-term personal goals. Over time they will change based on any number of factors so we keep the timeline just long enough to make a difference but not so long it becomes an unreachable objective. In the case of Danieke and Celine, their goal was to “stay competitive for at least the next 5 years.” This objective ticks all of the boxes for a well-written objective statement. It’s qualitative, inspirational and aspirational. It provides clear value to the person setting it and it’s timeboxed.
In this case, the 5 year time frame was a reasonable one for the type of goal these two athletes were aspiring to achieve. For other well-being goals that may be too long – like work/life balance for example. Again, the shorter the time frame, the sooner we can reflect and learn whether or not we’re trending towards our well-being goals.
Well-being key results are changes in our and others’ behavior
One of the reasons we discourage personal OKRs in a business context is because OKRs are designed to impact the behavior of other humans. When we set behavior goal changes for ourselves we can game the system and it can be difficult to tell if we’re making progress. For personal well-being goals however, the behavior change can be measured in others as well as in ourselves.
In the case of our professional beach volleyball team, what behavior would they measure that would tell them they continue to be competitive in their sport? We talked through at least three potential key results:
- The team experiences 90% fewer injuries in the next 5 years than in the past 5 years
- The team appears 30% more times on the podium (i.e., 1st, 2nd or 3rd place)
- Tournament organizers invite the team to compete at least 25% more each year
You’ll notice that the first two behaviors are changes in their own behavior. The third is an external person (tournament organizer). In the case of well-being, OKRs individual key results work, if written correctly, because these are meaningful changes in the behavior of the “customer” who just happens to be you. However, the work you do on your own well-being can absolutely influence others that interact with you and that behavior can also be captured, measured and written as a key result.
How do we achieve well-being OKRs?
This is where things get interesting. Whether it’s a work/life balance, a long-term competitive goal or another well-being objective you’ve set for yourself there is an infinite number of ways for you to achieve those goals. In fact, in the case of well-being OKRs there is no one who can limit what you try to achieve your goals.
Each tactic you try is an experiment. You can try variations on it but ultimately if it doesn’t bring about the behavior change you want to see in yourself and others around you then it doesn’t work. It’s time to try something new.
For our volleyball crew they could try a variety of things to stay competitive and achieve their key results. For example:
- They can work with a new coach
- They can change their diet
- They can practice more times or for longer periods every week
- They can practice fewer times every week
- They can add a complementary second sport to their routine
- Etc
Which idea is best? Like in a professional context we can take an educated case based on our experience and expertise and start down that path. However if it doesn’t help us trend towards our key results then we need to try something new. In this way, we’re not committed to any particular well-being practice just because it’s trendy, our friends are doing it or you saw someone on Instagram try it. Instead, you’re committing to efforts that actually make a difference in how you and those around you behave. That’s the goal. The tactics are the variables that get you there.
Well-being OKRs can work with discipline
In a work context your boss and stakeholders hold you accountable. In a personal well-being context you have to hold yourself accountable. There is no one else to tell you the tactic you’re trying is working or not. You must be honest with yourself and adjust course based on what you learn along the way. In that way, well-being OKRs can be a great way to set personal goals for happier, healthier, more fulfilling life.
